Hot-water system



Sept. 8, 1925. 1,552,641

7 J. J. PARKINSON HOT WATER SYSTEM Filed Aug. 11. 1924 INVENTORdig/22421111450 BY I y" I ATTORNEYS use in order to obtain hot water.

Patented Sept. 8, 1925.

V UNITED STATES JOHN J. PARKINSON, OF CHICAGO, ILLINOIS.

HOT-WATER SYSTEM.

Application filed August 11, 1924. Serial No. 731,400.

provement in Hot-Water Systems, of which the following is a full, clear,and exact description.

My invention relates to improvements in hot water systems, and itconsists in the combinations, constructions, and arrangements hereindescribed and claimed.

An obj ectof my invention is to provide an improvement over that form ofthe device shown in my co-pending application, Serial No. 656,516, filedAugust 9, 1923. In my copending application I showed a hot water systemwhich made use of a pipe that was disposed in the water in the boiler ofthe furnace and which also made use of a reserve tank, this reserve tankholding the water so as to be ready for instant use when desired. Theprincipal object of the present invention is to provide a hot watersystem in which the piping in the house itself acts as a reservoir forthe hot water and therefor? does away with the customary reservoir tanz.

A further object of my invention is to provide a device of the typedescribed in which the hot water is kept circulating throughout theentire piping system of the house, whereby hot water may be obtainedfrom any of the faucets in the house the instant the faucet is turnedon.

A further object of my inventionis to provide a tankless hot watersystem of the type described in which the hot water is re ta'ined in thepiping system in the house, thereby conserving the heat which isordinarily lost by radiation when a large storage tank is used, and alsodoing away with the inconvenience of cleaning the storage tank from timeto time.

A further object of myinvention is to provide a hot water system of thetype described in which hot water may be instantly obtained as soon asthe faucet is turned on, thereby eliminating the waste of water whichiscaused when a large quantity of cold water is run 0H in-the systems nowin Still another object of my invention resides in the .provision ofmeans for preheating the incoming cold water by means of the waterheated,i n the system so as to permit the introduction of the cold waterdirectly into the partitioned tubes at the hottest par of the boiler.

A further feature of my invention resides in the construction andarrangement of the sheet metal partition for the liquid heating members.o

A further object of my invention is to provide a hot water system of thetype described which has novel means for cleanin the system of anyforeign matter.

Other objects and advantages will appear in the following specification,and the novel features of the invention will appear in the Figure 2 is afront elevation of the device,

Figure 3 is a sectionalong the line 33' of Figure 2, and

Figure 4 is a section along the line 4-4 of Figure 3,

' Figure 5 1s a section through one of the headers showing the partitiontherein'and also the partition in the tube.

In carrying out my invention I make use ra'rti srr OFFICE.

of a boiler 1 which is provided with. a customary fire door 2 and draftdoor 3. The boiler 1 is provided with a hot waterjzank 4, this waterbeing'used for the steam radiators and other like devices which areemployed in the average house.

. In Figure 3 I have clearly shown how the boiler 1 is provided withopenings 5 through which pipes 6 are disposed. These types of tubes 6form water conducting and heating elements. They are closed at theirrear ends and are provided at their forward ends with threads adapted toscrew into headers,

the construction of which is shown in figure 5 of the drawings. Each ofthese headers is provided with an inlet opening to which connects thepipe 7 and each is provided with an outlet or-di'scharge opening whichalso connects pipe 7, the former pipe of the first header of the seriesis the cold water inlet while the latter pipe 7 of the last header ofthe series is the hot water discharge. The heater is also provided witha front opening closed by a screw plug 7. The rear of the header isprovided with an opening preferably opposite the opening closed by theplug 7". This is the opening in. which the tube 6 threads. In addition,the header is provided with a partition 7 which extends entirely acrossthe header so as to separate the inlet opening from' the dischargeopening. Each tube 6 is provided with a detachable partition adapted tocause the water to traverse the tube in a plurality of directions. Inthe preferred form of my invention this partition is a single piece ofsheet metal which is folded longitudinally of the tube whereby toprovide the intermediate strengthening rib or fin 83 and the two lateralflanges 8' which extend in diametrically opposed directions wherebypreferably to sub-divide the tube 6. And preferably the projecting endsof these; flanges are provided with skirts8 which engage the inner wallsof the tube as, shown clearly in Figure 4. It will be noted that byforming the partition member as above described, the strengthening riband the lateral flanges form resilient members which engage and grip theinner walls of the tube and thereby hold the partition in place. 1 dueto this construction the hot water causes And these flanges and theskirts 8 to expand and effect a substantially water tight joint with theinner walls of the tube. "And this construction also permits the quickdetachability of the partition if it be desired to clean out the tube.The partition is inserted in the tube with the flanges 8 in the plane ofthe header partition 7 thereby forming a lower water channel whichcommunicates with the inlet opening of the header and upper waterchannels communicating with the outlet of the header.

It will be noted that the headers disclosed in Figures 2 and 3 of thedrawings are all connected in series so that the discharge of. oneheader will connect the water into the inlet opening ofthe next headerand so on throughout the series. In this way the water is compelled totravel in reverse directions successively throughout all of the headersso that by the time it reaches the last header it is heated to thedesired temperature. These pipes are connected to a common pipe 7 andare provided with partitions 8. It-

will be noted from Figure 3that the'partitions 8 are arranged so as tocause the water flowing through the pipe 7 to pass through all of thepipes 6. The arrows show the course of the water as it flows through thevarious pipes. The pipes 6 extend into the hot water in the compartment4 and it will therefore be seen that the water within the pipe 6 will beheated and will therefore pass on through the pipe 8' to a heat equal- Iizer or preheater 9. In Figure 3 only one plug 7 is shown. It is to beunderstood that all of the headers are provided with front openingsclosedvby similar plugs.

The equalizer or preheater for the cold water 9 is in reality a largecylinder which has a partition 10 therein that divides the cylinder intoan upper compartment 11 and a lower compartment 12. The pipe 8communicates with the compartment 11 while the pipe 7 communicates withthe compartment 12. A cold water inlet pipe 13 also communicates withthe compartment 12. The water flows through the pipe 13, the compartment12, the pipe 7, and to the pipes 6. The water flowing from the pipe 13to the pipe comes in contact with the partition 10 and is warmed to aslight extent by the conduction of heat which is given off by the-heatedwater passing through the compartment '11. By means of this preheatingthe cold water, which in winter is oftenbelow forty degrees Fahrenheit,may be introduced directly into the partitioned tubes without danger.These tubes 'are located just above the crown sheet of the fire box andsubmerged inthe boiler water. This is the zone of maximum temperaturewithin the boiler. The water from the compartment 11 is cbnveyed bymeans of a pipe 14 to the hot water system in the house, (not shown). -Areturn pipe 15 is also-connected to the hot water systemand communicateswith the pipe 7. A check valve 16 is disposed in the pipe 15 and permitsthe water to flow in the direction of the arrow through the pipe 15 butprevents the water from flowing in a reverse direction. i From theforegoing description of th various parts of the hot waterasystem, the

operation thereof may be readily understood. It will be seen that thepipe 7, pipes 6, the pipe 8, the compartment 11, the pipe 14, and thepipe 15 provide a continuous route for the flow of water'throughout theentire hot water system of the house. As heretofore stated, the checkvalve 16 permits the .water to flow, in only one direction throughoutthis entire system. As'long as there is hot water in the reservoir 4,there will be a flow of water through the hot water system in the house.It will therefore be apparcntthat the water will be hot at all 'ing thesystem of any foreign matter that When the.

may become lodged therein. valve 20 is opened and the valves 19 and 21closed the water will flow through the pipe 14,"the compartment 11, thepipe 8, the pipes 6, the pipe, 7 in a direction reverse to the normalflow, and out through the pipe 17.

I The weight of the column of water in the hot water system in the housewill cause this flow. The water as it flows in this direction will cleanout all of the foreign matter in the piping system. If now the valves 19and 20 are closed and the valve 21 opened, the water will flow throughthe pipe 13, the

@ compartment 12, and also through the pipe and through the portion ofthe pipe 7 that extends between the compartment 12- and the pipe 18.When these two valves are closed, i. e., the valves 19 and 20 and thevalve 21 is opened, the flow of the water will clean the hot watersystem of the foreign hot water in place of the customary storage tank.The first and principal advantage lies in the fact that the person whowishes to use hot water is assured of getting, hot water the instant heturns on the faucet. This is due to the fact that the hot water is keptcirculating throughout the entire hot water system as long as there isany'hot water in the boiler 1. The second advantage lies in the factthat the storage tank is eliminated and therefore reduces the expense ofsuch a tank and also cuts down the amount of radiation which is usuallygiven ofi" by a large tank. Another importantpoint to consider is thepoint that the clean; ing of the storage tank is also done away with.The device is simple in construction and may be readily installed inalmost any type of standard boiler.

I claim:

1, The combination with a boiler and a hot water system, an equalizerhaving a'par-i tition therein dividing the equalizer into two.compartments, a cold water pipe in communication with one of saidcompartments, an outlet pipe leading from said compartment, a pluralityof pipes havin partitions there in, said pipes adapted to Ee disposed inthe water in said boiler, said outlet pipe being connected to said pipeshaving the partitions therein, a pipe in communication with saidpartition, pipes, and with the other compartment, a pipe connecting saidlastnamed compartment with the hot water system, and another pipeconnecting the hot water system with said outlet pipe, and dischargepipes in communication with said outlet pipe for cleaning thepartitioned pipes, compartments, and hot watersystem from foreignmatter. 2 A tankless water heating system for buildings and the likecomprising in combination with the boiler of a hot water' heater, pipingforming'a closed water-circulating system for the building, said pipinghaving in series therein a plurality of water conducting andheating'members disposed in the water of the boiler, each member beingpartitioned to cause the Water'to flow in a plurality of connected pathstherein and said members being connected in series to 'cause each one todischarge into the sucof water conducting and heating members Idisposedv in the water of the boiler, each member being partitioned todivide the member so as to compel the water to traverse the member in aplurality of directions, said members being connected in series in saidpiping circuit to cause the water discharging from one partitionedmember to enter the next partitioned member whereby a continuous supplyof hot water is constantly circulated in said system.

4. A tankless water heating system for a building or the like,comprising in combination with the boiler of, a hot water heater, aplurality of partitioned members projecting into the water insaid boilerand con nected in series to cause the water to flow in series throughsaid members and through each partitioned member in a plurality ofdirections, a hot watercpiping system for the building having the seriesof partitioned members connected in series in said system, a source ofcold water supply and means for causing the incoming cold water to bepreheated by the hot water of the circulatory system, and means forintroducing said preheated water into the series ofpartitioned members.

5. A tankless water heating system for a building or the like,comprising in combination with the boiler ofa hot water heater,

a plurality of tubes projecting into the water in said boiler,partitions in saidtubes for causing water to flow in aplurahty ofconnected water heating paths in each tube,

in series whereby the water heated in one discharges into the nextsucceeding tube, a hot water pipe system for the building and havingsaid partitioned tubes connected in series therein, a 'cold waterpreheater' formed with a heat conducting partition adapted to provideseparate hot and cold 'means for connecting said partitioned tubestudinally to provide a strengthening rib Water channels, said hot waterchannel being connected to the discharge from said partitioned tubes andto said system and said cold water channel being connected to a sourceof cold Water and to the inlet of said series of partitioned tubes.

6. A hot'water heating device adapted to be inserted in the water of ahot Water boiler comprising a header having an inlet and a discharge anda rear opening, a partition in said header adapted to separate saidinlet from said discharge, a tube detachably connected to saidrearopening and closed at its rear end, and a single-piece sheet metalpartition disposed in said tube, said partition being folded centrallylongiand resilient lateral arms adapted to grip the side Walls of thetube, said lateral arms forming with said header partition separateWater passages communicating at the rear of the tube,

7. A sheet metal partition for a liquid heating tube comprising a singlepiece of sheet metal folded longitudinally to provide a strengtheningrib and lateral flanges, the

latter being provided with angularly disposed skirts adapted to engagethe inner Walls of the tube.

8. A sheet metal partition for a liquid heating tube comprising a mainpartition member adapted to extend longitudinally of the tube and havingportions adapted to grip substantially diametrically opposed opposedportions thereof, said member having a laterally extending strengtheningrib adapted to engage an intermediate portion of said tube Wall.

10. A tankless Water heating system for buildings and the like,comprising in combination with the boiler of a hot Water heater, pipingforming a closed water circulating system, said piping having includedin series therein a hot water .tap anda plurality of water conductingand heatingmembers, said heating members being disposed in the Water ofthe boiler, each member being partitioned to divide the member so as tocompel the Water to traverse said member in a plurality of directions,said system being devoid of a water storing tank and being arranged topermit the constant circulation of hot water in the system.

11. A' sheet metal partition for a'liquid heating tube comprising asingle piece of sheet metal. folded longitudinally to provide astrengthening rib and lateral flanges, said flanges being constructedand arranged to engage the inner Walls of the tube in a substantiallytight manner. I

JOHN J. PARKINSON.

